Non Kayak related: Alaskan Fishing Trip from Cruise

[RockyRaab]

Our cruise was in late June, also. The folks who booked Ketchikan fishing excursions said that kings were hard to come by. Don't recall hearing about halibut.

Shore excursions booked through the cruise line are set up to coincide with arrival/departure times. The guides do this every single day - you aren't going to miss the ship. They also ship catches home all the time. Pay the fee and don't worry.

We cruise on Norwegian (the best, IMO) and there were literally pages of shore excursion listings. Booking that way (and in advance) might possibly cost a bit more, but is certain to be less risky.

[dbarnett66]

Thanks for the replies, it helps.

[ronbo613]

I don't live in Alaska, but I'm closer than you are and I do a fair bit of salmon fishing from my kayak. First off, 4-6 hours seems like a pretty narrow window if you include all the logistics. Salmon fishing sucess is dependent on if the fish are running or not. At the peak of a salmon run, the fishing can be pretty darn good, at the beginning and end, not so hot. Even when salmon are running, they may not feel like biting, lots of long days on the water and you feel very lucky to catch one fish. As much as I like kayak fishing, with such a short time window, you might want to consider a charter on a power boat so you can cover more water; on large water, trolling and drifting are the most common ways to fish for salmon.
As far as shipping fish home, I'm sure you can find somebody to do that for you, depending on how much you want to pay for a piece of frozen salmon. If I caught a salmon there, I would probably clean it, cook it and eat it straightaway; nothing like fresh salmon. For the price of shipping salmon home, you could probably get a fresh salmon dinner at the best restaurant in town.



I don't want to discourage you because salmon are some of the hardest fighting fish you will ever catch and Chinook(King) salmon get pretty darn big. Fishing in Alaska, even in the middle of the summer, is a lot different than fishing in SoCal, you have to take that into consideration.



Check fishing reports for the time of year you'll be taking your cruise and see if it's worth trying for a salmon or two, otherwise, I know the halibut up there get pretty huge.